Trumpeter and singer Keyon Harrold has a particular philosophy when it comes to bringing modern influences to his music.
"I wouldn't even limited to jazz and hip-hop. I would say all music. It is a beautiful gumbo when it's put together in the right kind of way," he said.
Harrold, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, found fame as the trumpet voice of Miles Davis in the award-winning film Miles Ahead. At the time of this interview, Harrold was celebrating his new album Foreverland in a 2024 KNKX studio session.
His band included guitarist Matt Sewell, pianist ASAR the Ambassador, drummer Brian Richburg, and bassist Dan Winshall. Harrold's known most of these young musicians since they were teenagers. He met Winshall when he was just 18.
"His first year in college he told me, 'Hey, I know all of your music, and I want to play with you one day.' And it happened. He's been with me for the last three years, so you know, you just never really know again where those intersections happen," Harrold said.
Harrold grew up loving both jazz and hip-hop, and producers Dr. Dre and J Dilla are as influential to his music as Miles Davis is. His first professional gig was with rap star Common, and he's toured with Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson ONE show, it's all part of his music.
"I don't just shelve the concepts that I've heard and learned," he said. "I want to put them into the music that I'm creating and I'm making to try to fuse this music to push it forward."
Harrold also loves working with vocalists who share the lyrical storytelling aspect of his music, and brought in. His fondness for a good story goes back to his childhood.
"I used to watch this movie, The NeverEnding Story. I'm probably telling my age, but that was one of my favorites, and you know it was always a journey. I'm always on a journey when I'm making music in life," Harrold said.
Harrold chose more media from his youth to explain his musical philosophy further. He compared his multi-genre musical blend to the superhero Power Rangers, who combine their weapons to create a larger weapon, a Megazord.
"I really don't put one genre or one musician above anybody," Harrold said. "I look at it to what people have to contribute, and I take all of that and again try to make my own Voltron or Power Ranger version or the greatest Megazord version of what music should be."
These days, Harold's actively touring with his Megazord jazz in promotion of Foreverland. He also performed recently at Carnegie Hall in honor of the centennial of Miles Davis.
Songs heard in this episode:
- "Well Walk Now"
- "Don’t Lie"
- "Foreverland"
